Does America need a longer school year?

Current Events, Jan 24, 1994

Early this month, the Rev. Jesse Jackson called black leaders to an antiviolence meeting in Washington, D.C. Politicians, educators, and others discussed the nation's mounting wave of violence.

C. Delores Tucker, chairwoman of the National Congress of Black Women, offered one of the most interesting ideas. She asked that the school classes be continued into the evening. Or, she suggested, students might attend classes all year long. This policy, she indicated, would keep students occupied as well as offering them more education.

In fact, American students have a shorter school year than students in almost any other industrialized nation. The American school year averages about 180 days. The British school year averages 192 days. Japanese students go to school 243 days.

Ernest L. Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Learning, has pointed out that there already is a trend toward keeping American schools open longer. "Such a large percentage of children go home to empty homes that schools are already adding afternoon and summer programs to help working parents," he said. Other educators point to the need for a better educated public, which more schooling would help achieve.

But not everyone agrees that more school hours would be a good thing. "Students need more free time to do various other things than academics and memorizing," said an education specialist with the Japanese embassy in Washington. Furthermore, lengthening the school year would cost billions of dollars more in salaries and building upkeep.

What do you think? Should the amount of schooling in America be increased by lengthening the school day or school year?